FEMA offering reimbursements in Brockton area for Hurricane Earl preparations

Alice C. Elwell

Monday

Sep 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2010 at 4:25 PM

The storm petered out and caused no damage, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency will offer reimbursements of up to 75 percent for towns, hospitals and colleges that spent money in preparation for disaster.

Even though Hurricane Earl swept through the region with barely a gust, the federal government is offering partial reimbursement to communities that spent money preparing for the potential emergency.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will offer reimbursements of up to 75 percent because of the presidential emergency declaration that was in place when the hurricane was predicted to hit, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Judge said the reimbursement will not apply to individual citizens but rather local governments, hospitals and colleges.

“It’s a way to get some money back,” Judge said. “These days, communities can use anything they can get.”

In Hanson, for example, Fire Chief Jerome A. Thompson Jr. said the department spent about $3,400 in hurricane preparations, including extra firefighters on duty.

“If indeed we did get hit, I felt we were really prepared,” he said.

Middleboro Fire Chief Lance Benjamino spent less – about $1,100, with expenses including staffing the south Middleboro fire station in case high winds felled trees and blocked roads.

Benjamino said he tracked the storm and saw that it was weakening rapidly on its approach to Massachusetts.

Bridgewater Fire Chief George W. Rogers said he spent a a few thousand dollars in preparation and will file for a reimbursement.

Bridgewater State University Police Chief David H. Tillinghast said his expenses were under the $1,000 benchmark and he will not be filing for a reimbursement.

Briefs for the reimbursement process will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., and at 2 p.m. in Bridgewater at the MEMA Region II headquarters on Administration Road, off Titicut Street.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.